Facts & Figures on the express industry

Size & Reach

In Europe, the Express Industry currently employs 272,000 people and delivers more than 260 million packages each year, constituting almost half of the intra-European air cargo market.

The express delivery companies are able to connect 90% of the world economy within 72 hours.

In 2009, the industry had an employment base of around 1.3 million staff worldwide – around a third more than the petroleum refinery industry, providing work for people with a wide range of skills, including sorting and delivering, administration and sales, as well as engineers / technicians and managers.

The express industry also supports a total of 2.75 million jobs worldwide through indirect employment.

In 2008, the express industry made a direct contribution to world GDP of US$80 billion, similar to that of the shipbuilding industry

The express industry globally is estimated to have generated sales revenue of US$175 billion in 2008.

The most important sectors for the express industry include high-tech and other leading ‘growth’ sectors such as IT, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, electronics and financial & business services. But services are also used extensively by firms in other sectors, including automotives and engineering and retail.

Europe forms a large part of the global express market, accounting for estimated revenues of EUR€37.8 billion in 2010.

The express industry has established EDI links with all customs authorities in the major European markets.

The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) estimate that the value of goods transported by air represents about 35% of all international trade. Express services represent a substantial proportion of this international trade: it constitutes almost half of the intra-European air cargo market.

The Express Industry:

Operates in more than 220 countries world-wide;

Moves more than 6 million packages daily;

Operates and owns more than 1,200 aircraft and in addition utilises more than 2,000 commercial flights daily;

Operates and owns more than 200,000 trucks and delivery vehicles;

Operates global, electronic track and trace networks, which monitor the Movement of each individual consignment during transportation;

Trade & Competitiveness

Almost 40% of businesses use next-day delivery services to meet more general time-critical commitments to their clients.

International trade is expected to continue to grow rapidly over the long-term, with forecasts that it will increase by almost 70% in real terms between 2009 and 2019 compared with a rise of 45% in world GDP.

World trade in manufactured goods increased eight-fold between 1950 and 1973.

The absolute volume increase in world trade since the mid 1970s has been over four times that over the previous 25 years.

World merchandise trade is forecast to increase by over 60% between 2008 and 2018, double the increase in global GDP.

Productivity & Investment

Two-thirds of companies are or have been able to achieve cost-savings from working with express delivery companies.

Around one-third of firms using express services are able to reduce their production costs.

Two-thirds of companies believe that express services facilitate the adoption of international best practice in production, which increases companies’ flexibility and ability to adapt to changes in demand. These strategies have been found to reduce total supply chain costs by between 3% and 5%.

In Europe around a third of firms claim that they might have to hold increased inventory at their home production site in order to meet the requirements of their production process, while over 40% say that they might have to hold increased inventory to meet customer demand.

Prospects & Growth

Between 2004 and 2009, the express industry’s turnover rose on average by 4% a year in real terms, slightly above the rate of the world economy as a whole.

The growth of express services is expected to average 3% a year in real terms between 2009 and 2014, then accelerate to 7% a year over the following five years providing there are no further constraints on its growth.

The direct contribution of the express industry to global GDP is set to increase by over 60% by 2018 to reach about US$135 billion in today’s prices.

Employment in the express industry globally is expected to increase from 1.3 million in 2009 to 1.8 million by 2018, if growth is not constrained.

The total global employment supported by the express industry is forecast to increase to 3 million by 2013 and reach 3.8 million by 2018.

If Express services were constrained to grow in line with GDP, then employment in the express industry would be around 300,000 lower than these forecasts by 2018.

The benefits that express delivery offers have resulted in the revenues of the express operators rising by around 40% since 2003 (or 20% when stripping out the effects of inflation).

The express industry is expected to continue to increase its share of the air cargo market, growing by an average of 5% a year in real terms between 2008 and 2018.

The impact of restrictions on express delivery services

Some 47% of European firms consider that their company would be very badly affected by the various ways in which the constraints on the availability of express services would impact on them, and around 74% consider their ability to compete would be either very badly or quite badly affected.

If government regulations were to mean that international next-day delivery services were no longer available:

16% of German companies expect they would lose orders.

12% of Polish companies would consider shifting some of their operations to a location where international next-day delivery services were available. For the Netherlands, this number is nearly up to 30%.

Independent researchers have estimated that restrictions that led to international next-day delivery services no longer being available in Europe could cut GDP each year by:

€5 billion in France

€4 billion in the UK

€3 billion in Italy

It is therefore estimated that the loss of express services would reduce GDP across the EU by more than €30 billion a year.